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The French driver is raring to go ahead of the seventh round of the World Rally Championship set to rev off in Naivasha next week
Eight-time World Rally Championship (WRC) champion Sebastien Ogier has expressed his love and admiration the Safari Rally ahead of the championship's visit to Naivasha next week.
Ogier won the Safari Rally on its return to the WRC calendar in 2021 and was leading last year’s event until he stopped to change a puncture on the second run at the Kedong test.
He will be among the star-studded cast in this year’s event again and he cannot wait to get a taste of the action in what is termed the toughest rally on the WRC calendar.
“I love the Safari Rally. Winning this event is one of the highlights of my career. Really, it’s one of the special ones,” Ogier told Redbull racing, as quoted by WRC.
“The place is quite magical. The people, the country and the roads - everything is just amazing. When you look to the people, it’s humbling to see how warm they are and for the welcome they are giving to us. They never stop smiling.
“I love this human side of this place and anything I can to help them, I will always do.”
The Safari Rally, slated for June 22-25, will be the seventh round of the 13-leg FIA World Rally Championship and represents one of the season’s most complicated events for the crew and the car.
“The challenge of Safari, it’s unique. It’s not like anywhere else on earth,” Ogier admitted.
“But we don’t forget: the roads also can be super-tough. You can go from the big, big rocks where you take only first gear into places where you struggle like hell to come through the fesh-fesh, with your face full of the dust.
“And then we’re out to the big, wide open African plains and you are flying and looking up to the big blue sky. It’s Africa. I love it,” he added.
Ogier is fourth on the standings with 83 points from the first six legs, 35 behind leader and Toyota teammate, the 2022 WRC champion Kelle Rovanpera, who is proving hard to catch again this season.
The French driver failed to defend his title last year after coming fourth following the mechanical problems he experienced along the way with the Finish youngster claiming the win on his way to winning his maiden WRC title.
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